Topic about base stats

AN: Oh no, not this again! Well, I must not be stingy; I must share it with everyone. Let's enjoy the cringe!

...

Floyd let his Pokémon enjoy their meal before starting their training. A little while later, he left them to join the scouts. It was time for him to impart some basic knowledge about Pokémon.

As he arrived, he noticed that some scouts had Squirtles by their side in addition to their original Pokémon. To his surprise, not all had chosen Squirtle; some had opted for different ones.

Chen Xin, for example, had selected a Pancham to accompany her Shuckle—another Pokémon that Floyd brought from Meidao.

Hu Tianyi was particularly bold, having added a Squirtle and a Rattata to his team.

Le Mai Linh took Machop to her team, and with Mankey and Tyrogue, bringing her tally to three Pokémon.

Jonathan chose a Geodude to join his Hisuian Growlithe, while Oh Jiwon, previously without a Pokémon, chose a Meowth, much like Choi Yerin did earlier.

Others, too, managed to pair with Pokémon, though a few still hadn't.

"Brother Go, there's no need for disappointment. Just be patient and show your sincerity towards them, and surely one of the creatures will come to you," Floyd comforted Go Jisung.

"Don't worry, youngest, I'm not upset," Go Jisung replied with a smile, offering reassurance to Floyd.

Relieved, Floyd then turned to reassure others who hadn't yet bonded with a Pokémon. With everyone's spirits lifted, he began his lesson.

"Considering Elekid's actions, it appears to favor both physical attacks and special attacks. Remember when I spoke about beasts Pokémon having their own strengths, whether in physical or special attacks, or even being all-rounders? For now, Elekid should focus on both physical moves and special attack moves which were Quick Attack and Thunder Shock. Let this guy train with the scouts," Floyd advised Kang Jihoon.

"As for Squirtle, it's a same which was suited for an all-rounder path, excelling in both physical and special attacks. You've all seen Blastoise's capabilities, I presume. I recommend training moves like Tackle, Water Gun, and Rapid Spin—pay particular attention to honing Squirtle's accuracy with the Water Gun move," Floyd suggested, receiving nods from the many Squirtle owners.

Floyd felt a pang of a headache when he saw Chen Xin's Shuckle. Unsure of the best approach to training a Pokémon like Shuckle, known for its high defense and special defense stats, he suggested focusing on defense training.

"Do you all remember the terms 'Attack' and 'Special Attack' that I explained before?" Floyd looked around at the group.

Everyone nodded.

"Given that there are terms for 'Special Attack' and 'Physical Attack,' it stands to reason that there should be corresponding terms for defense: 'Physical Defense' and 'Special Defense'," Floyd continued.

Kang Jihoon, now perplexed by the influx of new terms, said, "Wait, so now there's 'Physical Defense' and 'Special Defense', in addition to 'Physical Attack' and 'Special Attack'? Why does it feel so complicated?"

Chen Yu chimed in with his own confusion, "What's the point of these two terms? I get that they relate to defense, but how do they work in conjunction with 'Attack' and 'Special Attack'?"

They weren't alone in their confusion; the rest of the group felt similarly bewildered.

"How can I make this clear…" Floyd muttered, scratching his head. "Let's break it down one piece at a time. Suppose we have two classes: Warrior and Magician. A Warrior hones his physique, resulting in a robust body. This means both his Physical Attack and Physical Defense are formidable."

"On the other hand, there's the Magician, who has honed his Spiritual Mana to conjure attacks. This implies he possesses a potent Special Attack. And not just that, the fact that he can conjure Special Attack magic means he's also capable of creating Defensive Magic, signifying a strong Special Defense."

"Each of these two classes has its own vulnerabilities. The Warrior is strong in Physical Attack and Defense but weak in Special Attack and Special Defense. If he is hit by a Special Attack, he should counter with Special Defense. However, because his Special Defense is weak, he will likely be overpowered."

"In a similar vein, the Magician, having cultivated spiritual mana but not physical prowess, would succumb if get attacked physically by a Warrior, given his lack of Physical Defense," Floyd continued. He knew his explanation was overly simplistic since some Pokémon are proficient in both attacking and special defense, but it was the best analogy he could think of at the moment.

Kang Jihoon, trying to understand, asked, "What about those who are proficient in both Special Attack and Physical Attack, as well as Physical Defense and Special Defense?"

"There might be some beasts that are inherently biased towards certain aspects. You could train them in the stats that aren't their specialty, and although there might be some improvement, you would be neglecting their innate talents," Floyd explained. "To give you another example: if the beasts you have excels at physical attacks but you insist on focusing on another aspect, yes, there could be progress. However, if you instead harness and focus on the aspect they are truly skilled at, the improvement will be significantly greater. By not doing so, the natural talent your Pokémon has for physical attacks would be underutilized," he elaborated.

"Then how do we determine if the beasts are good at Special Attack, Special Defense, Physical Attack, and Physical Defense?" Ivan inquired, his question resonating with the others.

"Their actions," Floyd replied, somewhat awkwardly. "You can also judge based on the moves they tend to learn and their body structure. If they are comfortable with close-range combat, then it's likely they possess a strong Physical Attack. Conversely, if they aren't adept at face-to-face confrontations, you might consider focusing on Special Attack. And if they don't excel in either, you might look into enhancing their Physical and Special Defense. It's essentially about trial and error; you need to experiment and observe for yourself," he encouraged.

"Just remember," Floyd cautioned, "just because the beast might only excel in one aspect doesn't mean you should neglect the others aspect. Training is still important. You can try to let them learn on other aspects of stats, but the focus should be on their main strengths."

"To be honest, most of what I've said is still hypothetical and unproven. It's all based on my personal observations and theories," Floyd admitted, his cheeks coloring slightly.

"If it's coming from you, it must be true," Jonathan countered. His faith in Floyd was unwavering, given the numerous times Floyd's 'theories' had proven to be accurate upon testing by Kanraku.

"Yeah, if it's the youngest, it must be true," Xiao Yun agreed.

"Indeed," Le Mai Linh nodded.

"Let's test Shuckle's capabilities, Sister Chen, if you're willing?" Floyd suggested, feeling a bit embarrassed, so he quickly shifted to the next topic.

"What am I going to do?" Chen Xin asked him.

"Come here with your Shuckle," Floyd instructed, gesturing with his hand.

Chen Xin blushed upon his gesture. She lowered her head, stood up, her ears turning red, and nodded faintly, "Um."

"I need another volunteer who can use Water Gun," Floyd said, surveying the group.

Amidst this, Floyd felt a strange sensation, as if someone were watching him with a cold gaze. He decided to shrug it off and focus on the task at hand, awaiting a volunteer for the test.